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Now that North Carolina juniors Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are officially off to The League, the Tar Heels and coach Roy Williams have an extra scholarship available to help fill out the 2009-'10 roster.

So, Roy, what will you do with it?

"In the spring time, all the players -- or at least a huge, huge majority of players -- have already made their decisions," Williams said during Thursday's news conference to say goodbye to Lawson and Ellington. "So you can't prepare for (players leaving early), but it is what it is."

Not everyone has made a decision this spring. There's a certain 6-foot-4, 184-pound high school senior in the Tar Heels' back yard who hasn't signed a letter of intent yet. Maybe you've heard of him: His name is John Wall and he happens to be one of the top-rated recruits in the nation. The top-rated player by some services.

And Wall is a point guard, seemingly a perfect fit for a North Carolina group Williams called "thinner on the perimeter than any team I've had at this time of the year."

But the Raleigh Word of God senior is almost certainly a one-and-done player. Would the Heels still be interested (if Wall were interested in them, of course)?

These days, players leaving early for the NBA is "something that you do prepare for," Williams said. "When we're recruiting, I want a good mix. I want to get guys who can shoot, guys who can defend, but I want to also get guys who are so good that they'll have this question mark after every year and some who I feel will be with us the whole time. There's no general rule that's good for everybody."

By the way, Wall has reportedly narrowed his choices to eight schools -- Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Memphis and four from the ACC: Miami, Duke, N.C. State ... and North Carolina.

-- Jeff Mills, Staff Writer